TCF Board Complains Of Interference by Councilwoman Ortega
The board of directors for the Texas Citrus Fiesta (TCF) accused Mission councilwoman Jessica Ortega of interfering in its internal operations, according to a letter it addressed to the city council on February 10 and obtained by the Progress Times.
The four-page letter on TCF’s official letterhead alleged Ortega made “repeated attempts to influence TCF operations by directly contacting the board president regarding organizational decisions and activities,” and conducted direct communication with the TCF director, witnessed by board members, in an effort to influence or interfere with administrative matters.
TCF board members Amanda O’Caña, Ted Prukop, Oscar Martinez, Kellye Ortega, April Flowers, Ted Venecia and Scott Gerlach signed the letter. Gerlach is married to city councilwoman Marisa Gerlach. The TCF organization is responsible for the organization of the annual celebration of the citrus harvest and last month marked its 90th year.
Reached by phone this week, Ortega said she would wait until the next council meeting on February 24 to respond to the allegations.
“Since this issue is on Tuesday’s agenda, I will refrain from commenting until it is discussed publicly,” Ortega said. “I look forward to clearing everything up.”
The agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting lists an executive session item that allows the council to privately discuss TCF operations and management; the council could reconvene in public to take action, or Ortega may opt to request that the item be pulled out of executive session, so it can be publicly discussed.
The TCF board will meet one day prior and also has a related item on its agenda: review and recommend updates to the Texas Citrus Fiesta by-laws.
TCF board president Amanda O’Caña noted that any changes to the organization’s by-laws would require approval by the council, due to the partnership between the city, TCF and the kings association.
“We’ll review of what we have in place, and I would anticipate some changes,” O’Caña said. “Fiesta needs to protect the way its run, we always try to block out the noise, and we run it as we see fit for the kings association, which still owns this, and for the city.
“It’s about tradition and legacy,” O’Caña continued. “We want to be sure the integrity stays the same.”
O’Caña said she personally sent the letter on behalf of the board and was shocked to see it on Facebook last weekend. In the letter, she alleged Ortega phoned her after the January 7 resignation of former board member Kristina Silva, and said, “This is not over.”
“I emailed the letter to only the five city council members and the two interim co-city managers,” O’Caña said. “Somehow from there it was posted online, and I was stunned.”
The first page of the TCF letter appeared on social media over the February 14 weekend, a few days after this newspaper asked for it through a public information request.
Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code dictates that governmental bodies promptly release requested public information, and the city is also required to treat all requestors of public information equally. It’s unclear how a portion of the TCF letter made its way onto the internet.
The Progress Times requested the TCF letter on February 11 and received it on February 18, about four days after it appeared online.
The formal complaint noted violations of the city charter, specifically section 3.08, which states that the council shall deal with administrative services solely through the city manager, and the council is prohibited from giving orders, either publicly or privately, to subordinates of the city manager.
A day after the city received the letter, mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza told the Progress Times there was not much the city could do about the complaints on Ortega’s alleged behavior.
“As a council, there’s not a whole lot we can do,” Gonzalez Garza said. “It’s going to be a personal decision on her part.”
The mayor said the city’s discussion next week will include clarity on current protocols.
“We do have policies in place regarding the chain of command, and how employees are supposed to communicate with us, and how we communicate with them,” Gonzalez Garza said. “The only thing we can do is make sure the policies are clear and discuss how we move forward.”
The TCF letter closes with a request for the city to confirm corrective measures in writing. As of press time, O’Caña said she has not received a response.
“Any other department in the city, there is not as much focus as there is on fiesta,” O’Caña said. “The kings association still owns fiesta, and I don’t anticipate that they want to move this out of the city. We’re trying to preserve what they’ve built.”
